Ozzy: Beatles set me on path to icon status

Ozzy Osbourne says the first time he heard The Beatles it was “like being hit by a bolt of lightning.”

The Black Sabbath frontman reveals the Fab Four’s early hit She Loves You changed his life and made him realise he wanted a career in music.

He tells Kerrang: “I’m sure I’d been exposed to other songs, but I think the first one that has a real effect on me was She Loves You by The Beatles. It was just magic, it was like being hit by a bolt of lightning.

“I even remember where I was and what I was doing. I was walking down the road in Aston one day, with my light blue transistor radio, and this song came on. I thought, ‘what the fuck is that?’

“It changed my life forever, and at that point I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I never knew it would turn out the way it did – it turned out way bigger than my wildest expectations – but I knew that I wanted to be the singer in a band.”

Ozzy adds that John Lennon’s way with words struck a chord with the future metal icon.

He says: “After I heard She Loves You, my whole world was The Beatles. I was just obsessed with them. A Day In The Life was a huge song for me when I was younger.

“John Lennon was so great with words. He had an amazing way of turning out ridiculous lyrics but making them sound interesting and clever. Sometimes I like more straightforward lyrics, but, at the same time, I’m a fan of lyrics that do a number on my head.”

Black Sabbath born again

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.